Photo: Guang Quan/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
Week 10 of the CFL season is officially in the books, and it might be time to place your bets on a Grey Cup rematch.
The Montreal Alouettes appear to be the class of the league, looking virtually unstoppable every week. Meanwhile, the Saskatchewan Roughriders have clawed back to first place in the West and look just as deep as they did last year. With injuries mounting for both clubs, neither seems phased.
3DownNation’s power rankings are created by having our contributors rank each team from No. 1 to No. 9 independently, then averaging out the scores. Each team’s most recent ranking is listed in brackets.
Enjoy the rankings and feel free to roast us on social media for anything you think we got wrong.
Photo courtesy: Montreal Alouettes
1) Montreal Alouettes (1)
Apparently, the Alouettes really are that good. Despite missing four impactful starters on defence, they made short work of the former West Division leaders. Davis Alexander trash-talked his way to 352 yards and four touchdowns, Tyson Philpot hauled in three of those, and Travis Theis officially pushed himself into the elite tier of running backs with another 100-yard outing. Even the special teams got involved, as Kylan Guidry blocked a punt.
Photo courtesy: Saskatchewan Roughriders.
2) Saskatchewan Roughriders (2)
Who needs Kian Schaffer-Baker, Samuel Emilus, or A.J. Ouellette when you have Dylan Djete, Johnny Johnson III, and Thomas Bertrand-Hudon? The Riders flexed their depth yet again in a blowout win over Ottawa, ripping through the Redblacks in the second half. The established stars came out to play as well, as KeeSean Johnson led the team with 133 yards receiving and Trevor Harris surpassed the 40k career passing milestone with a 401-yard outing. Tommy Stevens also rumbled for three more touchdowns, which might lead to the great Regina donut shortage of 2026.
Edmonton Elks
3) Edmonton Elks (3)
Losing back-to-back games to the top two teams on this list is one thing; getting sandblasted by a short-handed Alouettes team is another. With the exception of two interceptions by Tyrell Ford, Edmonton’s defence was ripped apart at Percival Molson, surrendering 481 yards of offence and six touchdowns. The offence couldn’t keep up, and Cody Fajardo found himself benched in garbage time. The game flipped at the end of the second half when head coach Mark Kilam blinked in the face of a third-and-one gamble, kicking a cowardly field goal that sent up the white flag.
Photo: Guang Quan/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
4) Toronto Argonauts (5)
The Double Blue finally got to play in the friendly confines of BMO Field this week and treated their patient fanbase to a long-awaited home victory. Chad Kelly threw four interceptions for the second time this season, but stepped up in crunch time with a gorgeous pass to Damonte Coxie to avoid defeat. Janarion Grant notched his second punt return touchdown of the season, moving into sole possession of second place all-time, while Shawn Lemon remained ageless with another sack and safety Bubba Bolden played hero with the tackle of the season to force a turnover on downs.
Photo: Guang Quan/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
5) Calgary Stampeders (4)
All good things must come to an end, and Vernon Adams Jr.’s run of interception-free play was no exception. The M.O.P candidate was picked off twice in a stinker of a performance, as he completed just 50 percent of his passes for 159 yards. Calgary’s defence kept them competitive with five turnovers forced, including two more interceptions from Canadian corner Ben Labrosse, but the team ran out of gas at the end. Dedrick Mills was stonewalled on third-and-one after a controversial play-call, setting up Toronto for a game-winning field goal.
Photo courtesy: Steven Chang/B.C. Lions
6) B.C. Lions (6)
Nathan Rourke put up 370 yards passing in his return from injury, but it was an uncharacteristically clunky offensive performance for B.C., filled with missed throws and bad drops. Jevon Cottoy was the team’s best player in his first appearance since the opener, putting up 109 yards receiving, though it was Justin McInnis who led the team with 159 yards through the air. 82 of that came on a momentum-stealing touchdown catch in the second quarter, but it was a 33-yard hook-up with Rourke in the fourth that was the most impressive and helped set up the game-winning field goal.
Samantha Keen/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
7) Winnipeg Blue Bombers (8)
A bye week gave the Bombers some extra time to think about their atrocious home record this season, but things are looking up as we round the midseason corner. Not only are the winless Ottawa Redblacks coming to town this week, raising the odds of a victory at Princess Auto Stadium considerably, but Winnipeg is expected to have franchise quarterback Zach Collaros back in the cockpit. Talk about a good omen!
Photo courtesy: Steven Chang/B.C. Lions
8) Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7)
Harrison Frost didn’t look bad in his first career start for the Tabbies, throwing for 239 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. However, it wasn’t enough to return Hamilton to relevance. A slow start, quiet second half, and failure to make the most of several major opportunities to seize momentum ensured that the doldrums would continue another week.
Photo courtesy: Arthur Ward/CFL.ca
9) Ottawa Redblacks (9)
New defensive coordinator, same old Ottawa Redblacks defence. Jeff Reinebold’s unit got pumped full of points in a second-half collapse against Saskatchewan, while Ryan Dinwiddie’s offence continued to fall short of expectations. Jake Maier threw for 339 yards and two touchdowns, but was picked off once and missed a couple of potential game-changers. Not even the kicking game could be reliable this week, as Lewis Ward shanked two converts after long snapper Peter Adjey left the game with an injury.
